A method has been developed for accurate quantitative determination of additive elements and wear metals in gasoline and diesel fuel in the concentration range of 0 to 50 ppm using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). This method requires an ICP capable of detecting metals at the 0.02 mg/kg level, and capable of linear calibration over the range of 0.05 to 20.0 mg/kg with a correlation coefficient of 0.9999 or better. No additional ICP-AES accessory or lengthy sample preparation is required. The PerkinElmer Optima 4300 has been shown to meet this requirement.